A NASA astronaut is slated Wednesday to return to Earth from the International Space Station on a Russian vehicle, as U.S. and Russian space agencies continue to carry out operations at the facility following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mark Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, are expected to say their final farewells to other crew members on board the research station at 11:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday and board a Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft for the return trip, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has said.
The crew should land in Kazakhstan around 7:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, floating down under parachutes on the spacecraft. From there, Mr. Vande Hei will be flown back to the U.S. on a NASA plane, agency officials said during a recent briefing.
NASA leaders have repeatedly said the agency’s collaboration with Russia on space station operations has carried on, despite the split between the countries on the ground.
“The working relationship between NASA and our international partners continues and that includes the professional relationship between the cosmonauts and our astronauts,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a speech Monday.
Other space missions and launches have been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however. The European Space Agency suspended cooperation with Roscosmos, as the Russian space agency is called, for the remainder of a planned Mars exploration mission and is working to find alternatives to Russian rockets for other launches.
Roscosmos halted work at the European launch facility in South America and banned sales of rocket engines to U.S. customers. The agency has also raised doubts about Russia’s future participation at the International Space Station.
Mr. Vande Hei is returning to Earth following a 355-day mission in space, a record for an American astronaut, according to NASA.
When the trio leaves the space station, there will be seven people on board including three NASA astronauts, one European astronaut and three Roscosmos cosmonauts.